Peppers only unanimous pick on AP all-ACC team

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Julius Peppers was the only unanimous pick to The Associated Press all-ACC football team, while league champion Maryland placed seven players on the 2001 first team released Tuesday.

Peppers, an All-American defensive lineman for North Carolina, received 69 first-team votes by members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Writers Association for 138 points.

Maryland 1,200-yard rusher Bruce Perry got the next highest point total with 136 points.

The 6-foot-6, 280-pound Peppers has 16 1/2 tackles for loss, eight sacks and three interceptions heading into North Carolina's regular-season finale Saturday against Southern Methodist.

Meanwhile, the ACC champion and No. 7 Terrapins (10-1) were well represented on the team with Perry, guard Todd Wike and center Melvin Fowler making the offensive team.

Maryland players included on the defensive team were linebacker E.J. Henderson, defensive backs Tony Jackson and Tony Okanlawon, and punter Brooks Barnard.

Perry, a sophomore, averaged 112.9 yards a game and an ACC-leading 5.7 yards a carry. His 1,242 yards were the fourth-best single-season rushing mark in Maryland history.

Wike and Fowler helped clear the way for Perry and a Maryland rushing attack that averaged 220.7 yards a game and scored 33 TDs on the ground.

Henderson helped anchor the ACC's top defense against the run, piling up 147 tackles, including 27 for loss.

When the Terrapins had poor field position, Barnard usually bailed them out, averaging 44.5 yards a punt. He is just the 12th punter in the ACC since 1953 to average as many yards.

Florida State has dominated the league and the all-conference teams since entering the ACC in 1992, but the Seminoles landed just four players on the team in 2001 after a down season.

Tackle Brett Williams was the lone offensive player from the Seminoles to make the team, while defensive lineman Darnell Dockett, linebacker Bradley Jennings and defensive back Chris Hope were selected on defense.

In a close race, Clemson's Woodrow Dantzler beat out Maryland's Shaun Hill for the quarterback position. Dantzler needs 131 yards rushing against Duke on Saturday to become the first player in NCAA history to rush for at least 1,000 yards and pass for 2,000 in a season.

Joe Burns of Georgia Tech joined Perry at the running back position after gaining 1,126 yards in 11 games.

Billy McMullen of Virginia and Kelly Campbell of Georgia Tech were named at wide receiver, while Mike Hart of Duke was the tight end.

McMullen's 80 catches are the second-most in a single season in ACC history.

Nat Dorsey of Georgia Tech and Michael Collins of Wake Forest round out the offensive line. Dorsey is the only freshman to be named to the team, while Collins was part of an offensive line that helped the Demon Deacons rush for an ACC-best 221.6 yards a game.

The rest of the defense included linebacker Levar Fisher of North Carolina State, defensive linemen Greg Gathers of Georgia Tech and Ryan Sims of North Carolina, and defensive back Terrence Holt of N.C. State.

Kelley Rhino of Georgia Tech was named first-team specialist after breaking the ACC's single-season yardage mark for punt returns. Teammate Luke Manget was named the place-kicker.

Manget, Peppers, Gathers and Fisher were the only repeaters from last year's team.